Electrical distribution centers having wire route plates are widely used in automobiles. The electrical distribution center is simply a central junction block system designed as a stand-alone assembly. This junction block can package various fuses, relays and electronic devices in a central location. The electrical distribution centers not only reduce cost by consolidating these various functions into one block, but they also reduce the number of cut and splice leads which helps to increase reliability. Due to the increase in electrical content in automobiles, the electrical distribution centers are becoming larger. At the same time, increased content of other components in the automobile has limited the available space for locating the electrical distribution centers. To date, most of the wire route plates have been flat and thus have limited packaging ability. Heretofore, options for bending the wire route plates included flexible circuits and header connections that add substantially to the system cost. Thus, it would be desirable to develop a low cost wire route plate design that allows for bending to accommodate packaging needs in today's confined automotive compartments.
The present invention provides advantages over and alternatives to the prior art.